News

This spring, new cyberbullying laws began that could have an impact on your day-to-day life. These laws were created to reduce cyberbullying by creating harsh penalties for those who harass people online. What you need to know: If someone posts online about wanting to hurt you or tries to make you afraid that they want to hurt you, they can now get in big trouble if you tell the police and if the police find out that the person meant what they said If you say on the internet that you want to hurt someone and someone tells the police...

I would like to share my gratefulness for a wonderful, top notch health center. The staff at Cherry Health’s Cedar Springs School Health Center are both knowledgeable and friendly. They serve both my child and our community in various ways. From athletic physicals to treating strep throat, children can now have their basic health care needs met right at their own school! This helps to decrease absenteeism. The location is convenient for families, and children can be seen without missing a lot of school. I’m so excited they recently expanded the program to accept families and household members of the...

On Thursday, the School-Community Health of Michigan delivered close to 150 sets of flowers to legislators with “Get Well Soon” cards inside. Inside of the card reads, “Not Sick? We Know”, and goes on to explain lack of health care can keep kids out of the classroom. The flowers are being used as an unique, introductory education piece for our legislators to educate them about the benefits of our school-based health centers. Over the next few weeks, SCHA-MI will host multiple advocacy events with legislators including a “coffee and donuts” presentation, School-Based Health Center Awareness Month, and Advocacy Day.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Gov. Rick Snyder recently signed legislation designating $31.3 million for School Mental Health and Support Services within the K-12 budget. Advocates for children say years of lobbying and advocacy finally paid off in December. School leaders say every year they try to meet the growing needs of students with mental, emotional or behavioral disorders with limited resources. “We are abundantly grateful for the allocation because it acknowledges student mental health issues are a problem in our schools,’’ said Ottawa Area ISD Superintendent Peter Haines. “For a long time, there has been a universal outcry that this...

On December 27th, Governor Snyder signed Senate Bill 149 (H-1), which funds over $30 million for school mental health support services in schools. The bill caps off a successful year for mental health and education advocates, who are now commending the addition of crucial resources to help children in need residing in underserved schools. Senator Goeff Hansen and Senator Peter MacGregor were co-sponsors of the bill, which included $5 million to hire additional licensed mental health care providers in School-Based Health Centers (referred to as child and adolescent health centers in the state budget). These providers would be placed in...

Every year, we take time to honor members of our school-based community who have been outstanding advocates and contributors. We are looking to you to nominate your colleagues in these key areas: Apple Award – The “Apple Award” is a great way to recognize a community member, advisory board representative, parent, educational partner, or funder who has expressed enduring support for school-based and school-linked health centers in your community or in Michigan. Make a Nomination Marilynn Keeslar Award – The Marilynn Keeslar Award, was created to recognize an individual who encompasses the traits of Marilynn Keeslar. This is a great way to recognize a staff...